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Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar (alternatively spelled Tanjung Pagar) is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones. Etymology Tanjong Pagar in Malay means "cape of stakes", a name which reflects its origins as a fishing village situated on a former promontory. It has been surmised that the name was inspired by the presence of kelongs (offshore palisade fishing traps constructed using wooden stakes and cross pieces) set up along the stretch of coast from the village of Tanjong Malang to what is now Tanjong Pagar. It is possibly a corruption of the earlier name Tanjong Passar, a road which led from South Bridge Road to the fishing village and which appeared in George Drumgoole Coleman's 1836 Map of the Town. A far more picturesque account of the naming of this part of the coast emerges from the realm of local legend. According to the Malay Annals, there was a time when the villages along the coast of Singapore suffered from vicious attacks from shoals of swordfish. On the advice of a particularly astute boy named Hang Nadim, the Sri Maharajah built a barricade of banana stems along the coast, which successfully trapped the attacking fish by their snouts as they leapt from the waters. The original name for Tanjong Pagar is also said to be Salinter, a fishing village. When the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company (1864) was formed due to the growth of shipping activities in the 1850s, wharves were built. Tanjong is "cape" and pagar means "fence" or enclosed space, i.e. wharf where ships are moored. Tanjong Pagar probably refers to the location of PSA Gate 3 near Victoria Dock. Around Tanjong Pagar were mangrove swamps which were filled in with earth from Mount Palmer and other nearby small hills for extension of the wharves up to Telok Blangah. Tanjong Pagar Road is known as tan jiong pa kat in Hokkien (Min Nan), which is phonetic. History For many years, Tanjong Pagar, located between the docks and the town, was an enclave for the thousands of Chinese and Indian dock workers who had migrated to Singapore from the mid-19th century. With all the traffic between the docks and the town, Tanjong Pagar was also lucrative ground for rickshaw pullers awaiting clients. So prevalent was their presence that in 1904, the government established a Jinricksha Station at the junction of Tanjong Pagar Road and Neil Road. From the time the docks began operations in 1864, land values in Tanjong Pagar rose, attracting wealthy Chinese and Arab traders to buy real estate there. The proliferation of impoverished workers led to overcrowding, pollution and social problems such as opium smoking and prostitution. Tanjong Pagar generally deteriorated into an inner city ghetto. By World War II, Tanjong Pagar was a predominantly working class Hokkien area with an Indian minority. In the mid-1980s, Tanjong Pagar became the first area in Singapore to be gazetted under the government's conservation plan. When the conservation project was completed, many of the area's shophouses were restored to their original appearance. But although a few traces of the old Tanjong Pagar remain — an old swimming pool, the odd street cobbler — the face of Tanjong Pagar has changed. Today, Tanjong Pagar has become a fashionable district, filled with thriving businesses, cafés, bars and restaurants. Highlights Tras Street The street name Tras Street dates from an 1898 municipal resolution to "use names of rivers and districts in the Malay Peninsula as being better adapted to the purpose naming streets than the names of persons or families". Tras Street today is a thriving night spot featuring many pubs, clubs and KTV bars. Cantonment Road Cantonment Road got its name from the contingent of Indian sepoys stationed here in 1819. They had accompanied Sir Stamford Raffles to Singapore and were asked to stay. In India, the English term for permanent military accommodation, as established by the sepoys, is "cantonment". The local Cantonese had another name for Cantonment Road. They called it Ba Suo Wei, meaning "at the foot of Bukit Pasoh". Outram Road, which used to be part of Cantonment Road, only became a separate thoroughfare in 1853. The old Chinese name for Outram was Si Pai Po, meaning "sepoy's field", referring to the former sepoy presence in the area during colonial days. Duxton Hill Dr J.W. Montgomerie, the first owner of Duxton Hill, cultivated nutmeg plantations on its slopes. Montgomerie died in 1856 and his land on Duxton was auctioned off. Fourteen acres went to Arab Syed Abdullah bin Omar Aljunied, who divided them into four lots which were leased to wealthy Chinese developers. By the 1890s, the developers had built two- and three-storey shophouses in Duxton Hill and the more affluent Chinese moved to the area. Tanjong Pagar Plaza Tanjong Pagar Plaza, the site of a complex of which replaced pre-war shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road, was formerly Cheng Cheok Street after Khoo Cheng Cheok. Khoo Cheng Cheok is believed to be the brother of rice merchant Khoo Cheng Tiong, who was president of the Thong Chai Medical Institution. It was once an important crossroads for traffic between the warehouses along the Singapore River and the wharves. Bullock carts and hand carts streamed through the area carrying goods from one point to the other. Tanjong Pagar Plaza refers to the shophouses which is built to accommodate businesses by HDB. The food centre is notable for its local dishes such as nasi lemak and fish soup, and there are as many as four stalls selling nasi lemak, and five stalls selling fish soup. Part of HDB's plan in early urban planning was to integrate housing near businesses within the CBD area. However, the offices and shophouses there are separate from HDB housing. Railway transport The Malaysian railway company (Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM)) ran trains to a terminal railway station here. Three daily train ran to Kuala Lumpur and other trains served other parts of Malaysia. Following an agreement between Malaysia and Singapore on 24 May 2010, the station ceased operation on 1 July 2011. KTM's southern terminus is now at the Woodlands Train Checkpoint near the causeway. The Singaporean government has promised to conserve the Tanjong Pagar railway station building and may integrate it into future developments on the site. Maxwell Food Centre The Maxwell Food Centre dates back to pre-war days as a fresh food market and food centre. In 1986, it was converted into a food centre, housing hawkers from the vicinity. The present existing hawker centre was renovated in 2001. Stallholders are mainly those from the essentially Cantonese neighbourhood, with many from the famed food street, China Street. A wide variety of authentic local favourites are available at Maxwell Food Centre, with a Cantonese bent. Popular dishes include hum chim peng (a crusty fried pancake), ngor hiang or Hokkien meat roll, and herbal broths made from home-brewed recipes. Altez Altez is a future residential development in Tanjong Pagar. It was topped out in December 2013, and so Chich Coearn had been staying as a visitor for few months, including the 15 March 2014 (the TPSS Fiesta 2014). It will be 50-stories and it is 250m. Spottiswoode 18 Spottiswoode 18 is a condominium in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore, of which it is 35-stories. A man has been involved with the alleged incident of the 74-year old delivery driver Nasiari Sunee died on 20 August 2019. He was hit on top of the glass bottle, said his two older children. He had just sat down at a table at the condominium's barbecue pit area to eat when he was hit. His wife and relatives were sitting with him. "Suddenly our relatives heard a big thud and another thud. They realised my dad had collapsed on the floor and his head was bleeding," said Madam Nas Suriati Nasiari, the oldest of Mr Nasiari's four children. "They saw a glass bottle on the table," said the 44-year-old service manager. Her family believes the bottle, after hitting Mr Nasiari, ricocheted and hit their mother, who had bruises on her shoulder, she added. A relative, who is a nurse, tended to Mr Nasiari, who was taken by ambulance to Singapore General Hospital for treatment at 8.35pm. But his heart stopped thrice during his treatment, she said. Her family decided not to resuscitate him if it stopped a fourth time, she added. "We didn't want to prolong the pain." Mr Nasari's blood pressure plunged the next morning and he died around 9am. Nas Suriati said her family called the police after the incident and tried to look for the person who threw killer litter. Police, who are investigating the matter, said the case is rash act by causing death. No arrests have been made on Tuesday evening. Last year, more than 1,200 cases of high-rise littering were reported to the National Environment Agency (NEA) and cameras were deployed to more than 1,000 areas with a persistent high-rise littering problem. Mr Nas Muhammad Nasta'in said his father, who has nine grandchildren, was well-loved by his family and neighbours, many of whom turned up for the wake. Even his many cousins called him "Ayah", which is Malay for father, he added. "In the last two days, we have cried enough. We are putting aside our grief and staying strong for our mum," he said. Andrew Gosling will be charged in court on 30 August and will be back on 3 September. Following the incident, police went door to door at Spottiswoode 18 to look for the person responsible for causing the bottle to fall from the 35-storey building. Residents told The Straits Times that officers showed them a picture of an Italian wine bottle. They were also asked if they had been drinking wine and were willing to provide fingerprint samples. Last year, the National Environment Agency took action on more than 1,200 cases of high-rise littering, and cameras were deployed in more than 1,000 areas with a persistent high-rise littering problem. If convicted of the offence, Gosling can be jailed for up to five years and fined. The grandfather was buried on August 20. Tanjong Pagar Ricoh Park Tanjong Pagar RICOH Park is a city park in Singapore,http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_visitorsguide&task=parks&id=35&Itemid=75 located just above the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. This 1.02 ha pocket park serves as a convenient location for people to meet and interact in a colourful and green environment. Key features of the park include landscapes consisting of colourful plants and trellises with climber plants. All these ameoliorate the harshness of the concrete buildings in the Central Business District. To encourage park visitors to appreciate the greenery in the park, signs which give details about the green environment can be seen all around the park. Apart from benches and seats installed under existing shady mature trees such as the Cratoxylum formosum (Pink Mempat) and Pterocarpus indicus (Angsana), the park also has 17 benches which were specially manufactured in Australia. The benches, donated by Ricoh, were made from recycled toner cartridges. Politics Currently, the entire place is divided between Tanjong Pagar GRC and Jalan Besar GRC. Both of them are under the ruling party, PAP. The western part of Tanjong Pagar is mainly located in the Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division of Tanjong Pagar GRC. Since the electoral ward was created in 1955, Lee Kuan Yew of the People's Action Party served as its Member of Parliament until his death on 23 March 2015. Lee's replacement is Indranee Thurai Rajah, who was also replaced by Joan Pereira in her Tanglin-Cairnhill ward (later halved into Henderson-Dawson and Moulmein-Cairnhill. Henderson-Dawson is served by Joan Pereira while Moulmein-Cairnhill is served by Melvin Yong). The eastern half of the area is also located in the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng division of Jalan Besar GRC whose MP is Mr John Lim Kwan Shen since 2015. It was part of Tanjong Pagar GRC from 2011 to 2015. References * Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, [[]] * National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, [[]] External links Category:Places in Singapore Category:Protected areas of Singapore Category:Downtown Core (Singapore) Category:Outram, Singapore Category:Tanjong Pagar